When I woke up, the sharp scent of hospital disinfectant filled my nose. Groggily turning over, I collided with a warm body.I quickly opened my eyes to find Atlas lying beside me. Staring at him in confusion, I struggled to grasp what was happening.He looked at me with a tender smile and gently kissed me. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Are you finally awake?”Still dazed, I mumbled, "What time is it?""It's 7," he replied softly."7?" I blinked, suddenly realizing it was evening. But why did it still seem like dawn outside?"7 p.m.," Atlas clarified.I gasped, glancing outside and then back at him. "It's 7 p.m.? Then... where's Dad?" Uncertain, I asked, trying to make sense of it all."He woke up briefly, then dozed off again. The doctor says he's finally getting some real rest," Atlas informed me in a gentle tone.Relief flooded through me. So, it was all real—my biological father was truly back.With a surge of happiness, I sat up abruptly, ready to get out of bed. Atlas's
Arnold strutted in with indifference, voicing his reproach for Atlas. "I told you that you shouldn't have let her go there. Look at how precarious it turned out. It’s almost cost my nephew's life.""Atlas, let me tell you, you're too arrogant. If something were to happen, you'd regret it big time, wouldn't you? Besides..."Atlas and I exchanged a glance, both of us chiming in unison, "Enough."Seeing the synchrony between us, Arnold pointed at me angrily. "You're just heartless."I laughed and collapsed into Atlas's embrace. At that moment, I felt incredibly happy. It was no wonder I couldn’t control the urge to vomit when I smelled blood at Navi’s base.Just thinking about it made my stomach churn, and it felt like that bloody odor was assaulting me again."Ugh..."I clamped my hand over my mouth, feeling the sweat beads forming on my forehead.Atlas immediately tensed up, swiftly jumping out of bed to carry me to the bathroom, where I retched.He gently patted my back as he
"I have a plan." Atlas asserted confidently."What plan?" Arnold asked."I'll tell you tonight.""Okay." Arnold nodded.I felt uneasy. I put down the spoon in my hand and looked at Atlas. "Atlas, aren’t you getting too comfortable at deceiving me? Has it become a routine for you now?"Atlas's smile was charming as he sat down behind me. "No way, I can't keep it from you this time. You need to know our entire plan to work with us. But with so many people around in the hospital, we need to be careful."His reasoning seemed sound, and after a moment of hesitation, I glanced at the door and nodded. "Alright then. But remember what you said."After finishing my meal, I pushed the small table away. "I need to go see my dad."Atlas, seeing that I wasn't pressing further, accompanied me to my father's room. Luckily, he had just woken up. When he saw us enter, his eyes lit up, and he seemed to regain some spirit. "Stella, you're awake."His voice was hoarse. I quickly took a cotton s
After the nurse left and closed the door, Atlas spoke solemnly, "Dad, rest assured. Everyone here is on our side."When sitting up, my father appeared even more frail, which tugged at my heartstrings.He looked at us with adoring eyes."Celine orchestrated the past events in collaboration with the leader of the organization. Later, Celine bribed Clark. To give that plane crash a perfect and logical conclusion, I was replaced by one of the organization's men to make everything look seamless," my father explained."How did you find out they swapped you in the plane crash?" I asked, puzzled. "At first, I had no idea. It was later when I saw the reports of the event, that I found out about it. But by then, the crash had happened long ago." My father's expression was despondent as he spoke. "Later, I got confirmation from Clark.""How did you know about Mom's death?" I asked. Though I didn't want to bring up that topic, it was important information we needed."Before sending me to N
My father wasn't surprised by our reactions at all.He continued solemnly, " This mineral distribution map represents the global mining landscape. We could control three-fifths of the world's total mineral resources if we could implement mining operations in Torado alone. That doesn’t include mining operations in other continents."His words left us both speechless.Immediately, Atlas asked, "So when Archie mentioned that my father wanted to discuss something with him before his passing, it was about the BZ plan? He said he was in an important meeting at the time and couldn't make it to Foswood as my father had suggested. “They planned to meet at another time. But before that meeting could take place, the tragic news of my parents' deaths in the plane crash arrived. Archie has always regretted that. He said my father sounded really serious at the time.”"Yes, that was the plan. Do you know why your father focused his business in Torado and ended up in Foswood?" "To leverage res
"Since it was a long-term and highly confidential plan, we didn’t dare discuss it with anyone else. A lot of businessmen would have been eager to get involved. But it would bring not only wealth but also disaster to many.” My father was not exaggerating.Even now, any mention of mineral development would make many people prick up their ears and become sensitive to the situation."Only the two of us knew about this plan, and only we were involved in planning every step meticulously."But somehow, the news leaked at some point." My father frowned. "I never figured out where the problem was, even after so many years.""Why do you say that?" I asked, intrigued.I noticed Atlas had been deep in thought. I was certain he understood the details."One day, Celine got her father to negotiate with Louis out of the blue. She said she could put the Pierce family’s business aside, but she wanted to do something of her own. You know what that was? She wanted to manage the mining sites in Urosi
My father glanced at me. "She plotted against Atlas's grandmother, and she saw Louis as a thorn in her side just after entering the Pierce family. Louis didn't care about the Pierce family's business originally, but he reluctantly took over the Pierce Corporation to provide cover for his mineral exploration.""I see."I sighed and poured a glass of warm water, handing it to my father. I noticed his lips were dry again.He took a sip before continuing. "He personally straightened out the Pierce family and put them on a legitimate track. His own company had already been established after he graduated, and it was doing quite well when he took over Pierce Corporation.""Could Clark have leaked the news? Was he the trigger?" I questioned skeptically.My father thought about my question for a moment, then shook his head. "No."He was surprisingly sure that it wasn’t Clark.He then gave his reason. "He joined the company at least three years after that.”"Are you saying someone else k
"He smirked and told me that Louis and Tammy had died in a plane crash, and I was 'dead' along with them,” my father choked.“At that moment, I passed out. When I woke up again, I wasn't in that small dark room anymore. He had moved me to a bamboo building deep in the mountains with two guards.""Did you know where that was?" I asked, my heart aching with anger. I wanted to kill Clark.He shook his head. "I had no idea. I didn't even know how far we had traveled. I'm sure they used something on me. My head was spinning when I woke up."I wanted to leave. I wanted to verify what Clark said. I simply couldn't believe that Louis and his wife could have died in a plane crash. They were so alive in my memories.”My father choked up again, and he clutched the bedsheet tightly with both hands. "He was my closest friend. We understood each other very well. We still had so much to do, including the BZ plan. How could he leave just like that?"By now, my father’s neck and face were red fro